Improving Smallholders’ Food Production Practice and Income Generation

Lutheran Development Service – LDS Liberia is collaborating with faith- and non-faith-based development organizations and the government of Liberia to transform the lives of rural dwellers who are disadvantaged by the lack of opportunities.

LDS is focused on quality education for Liberia’s children, a good health delivery system in rural communities, and proper sanitation facilities to minimize the spread of diseases and provide safe drinking water. The organization has responded to the needs of survivors of disasters mainly storms and floods and assisted rural farmers.

The Lutheran Development Service – LDS, is also a partner organization of the Civil Peace Service Liberia Network. With the vision of a sustainable and holistic transformation of the lives of rural inhabitants from poverty to prosperity,, It is actively engaging and assisting individuals, groups, and communities, irrespective of religion, tribe, race, origin, beliefs, or political affiliation to bring about sustainable improvement in the quality of their lives.

In Partnership with Bread for the World BftW, LDS is implementing a three-year Community Livelihood Assistance Project (CLAP) in Salayea District, Lofa County. The CLAP program is meant to improve smallholders’ food production practices and the income generation capacity of 400 farmers to help reduce poverty in 8 communities in Salayea District, Lofa County; improve health and sanitation practices to reduce illness from waterborne diseases and environmental pollution in household communities in 10 communities; and strengthen school governance, to improve instructional quality in 10 public schools.

 Harvesting pepper in Salayea, Lofa County

Additionally, LDS  is strengthening school governance to improve the quality of education through payment of honorarium to 10 public schools for one year, and 45 volunteer teachers; supplying assorted instructional materials to targeted schools, and supporting school gardens to produce crops and generate revenue for Parent Teachers Associations – PTA operations.

LDS under the CLAP program is engaged in bio-pesticide production and application training using local materials to produce effective pesticides and vegetable production by farming groups; Lowland rice production and power tiller operation and maintenance training for lowland rice farmers in preparing their land for farming. With this training farmers are better prepared and able to produce their own pesticides, which helps to save cost and enable farmers to have access to adequate pesticides.

The income generation capacity of 400 Smallholders farmers is being enhanced through the CLAP Project, which helps to reduce poverty in 8 communities in Salayea District, Lofa County; Improvement in health and sanitation practices, which helps to reduce illness from waterborne diseases and environmental pollution in households in ten communities.

Conducting bio pesticide training for farmers